Sunday, March 27, 2011

Painting with a Plan

I have painted my fair share of rooms over the years - some two and three times each. Paint is one of the best ways to make a change when you are short on change.

The very first thing we did after closing on our new house last spring was to paint. But for the first time, I painted with a plan.

We frequent Charleston, South Carolina, and I bought a colorful print from a local artist on one of our last visits. I loved the colors so much that I decided to decorate our new house using the print as my inspiration, a little tip I learned from Candice Olson of Divine Design. Here's my inspiration:

Jen Bennett, imagescharleston.com

I started with a paint color, Wythe Blue from Benjamin Moore. While my sample was Benjamin Moore, I took the color code to Lowes and was able to have the color duplicated for a lower price. Little known tip.

We painted for three days straight with the help of both our dads.

We have two-story ceilings in both our entry and family room spaces. Local painters quoted us upwards of $1,000 in labor alone! Needless to say, they did not get our business. My one recommendation to anyone undertaking 18 foot ceilings is to rent scaffolding. We used a series of ladders rigged together, and it was not a good, or safe, route. Spend the money on sturdy scaffolding! We did use the brown painter's paper from Lowes to cover our hardwood floors. I also recommend that safeguard.

As for furniture, fabric and wall-coverings, I worked with a designer at O.P. Jenkins, to select a scheme based on my inspiration print and wall color. This is when things really started to come together:

We picked a beautiful couch and two chairs to go with the plaid pillow fabric and silk drapes:

Same Moore "Tyler" chair ordered in pure cream

After waiting the standard four to six weeks for the pieces to arrive, we were beyond thrilled with our selections once they were delivered. I cannot express enough how beneficial the planning process of starting with an inspirational piece was for me. I often get overwhelmed when shopping and end up buying based on price, pattern or color alone rather than keeping the big picture in mind.

So for the before and after unveil, here you go:

Before

(With the previous owners' furniture)

After

I hope you like it! We're pretty pleased and really enjoy the new color palette. Now get to painting!

About Me

I am a southern, J Crew-wearing avid project starter who grew up in a do-it-yourself family.
Over the years, I've learned to tile bathrooms, replace faucets and hang chandeliers. You should see the look on an installer's face when I tell him I'll be doing the demo.
My hope for Plumb is to explain the projects I've undertaken, inspire others and learn new tricks in the process.